Dances With Elves
by Taoreta-Hoshi
Summary: Glorfindel is excited about the arrival of Thorin's company in Rivendell. Kili is bored and Fili wants to remedy this. The two brother meet Glorfindel among other elves. Late night dancing and laughing. No slash. (Implied Glorfindel/Erestor though if you look). Oneshot.


wardog85 requested some Glorfindel/heirs of Durin stuff after reading my other fic 'To Heal A Sickness'. This one is a lot happier than the other though because yeah...only so much angst can be taken.

A longer summary:

Glorfindel is extremely excited about the arrival of the dwarves and yet also seems to be excited about the prospect of dancing with Erestor a midnight gathering he has organised for some reason. Kili is bored because Thorin is gone and he wants to explore so Fili makes up a reason for him to. They stumble over the little midnight dancing session of the elves and decide to join in, but only if it could be done dwarven style. Cue some fun between the heirs of Durin and Glorfindel.

'Meleth' used by Glorfindel, means 'beloved' as far as I am aware in elvish.

All characters belong to the amazing J.R.R. Tolkien.

* * *

The quiet peace of the library was broken when the door banged open, bouncing off the wall before it was slammed shut. Erestor was towards the back of the library but he didn't need to see the person who had opened his library door that way, it was evident to him who was coming to find him. Glorfindel, the Balrog slayer that usually had the energy of an elfling, despite being thousands of years old, appeared next to Erestor seconds after the door was closed but Erestor blatantly ignored the blonde elf.

"Erestor." He said softly. Erestor ignored him. "Erestor." Glorfindel repeated a little louder. Again Erestor ignored him, although his eyebrows were furrowed in anger. "Erestor!" The blonde shouted.

"What?!" Erestor demanded, turning swiftly to face Glorfindel and slamming the pile of books he was holding down on the table next to him.

Glorfindel blinked at him rather innocently, his lip forming a slight pout as Erestor continued glaring at him. The blonde haired elf couldn't help but smile after a moment though and reached forward with the intention to poke the librarian's nose. Erestor smacked his hand away.

"There are dwarves here." Glorfindel stated.

Erestor opened his mouth to shout at Glorfindel for doing something stupid, which was what the elf had normally done when he came barging into the library to talk to him, but closed his mouth when he had processed what the elven Lord had actually said to him.

"Dwarves?" He asked, well more stated than anything, but Glorfindel was too excited to notice the tone of Erestor's voice.

"Yeah, thirteen of them. And Mithrandir is here as well. And a Hobbit. I've never seen one before but oh Erestor they're so adorable. He's so small and he wears no shoes and he just looks so disgruntled." Glorfindel cried, tripping over some of his words in his rush to get them out, but Erestor was used to the blonde doing that and could automatically tell what he was trying to say.

"Dwarves in Rivendell?" He asked again. Glorfindel's head tilted to the side and his expression changed from one of excited to one of exasperation.

"You've been spending too much time in all your books!" He complained, "You're going slow."

Erestor decided it would be better not to point out that spending time with books would probably make one process things faster, if they were not as ridiculous as the notion of dwarves in Rivendell. Why would dwarves even be in this part of Middle Earth, and would they even seek shelter with the elves when relations between the two races were not exactly brilliant. Glorfindel's excitement at the prospect of dwarves being in Rivendell told Erestor that the elf was not lying to him, even if it did sound like he was.

"Why does it make you so excited that dwarves are in Rivendell?" He inquired, turning his attention back to his books, but not quickly enough to miss the radiant, beautiful smile that suddenly appeared on Glorfindel's lips at the question.

"I remember the days before elves and dwarves were at each other's throats Erestor," He practically shouted, resting one of his arms on the bookshelf next to him so he could rest his weight on one foot more than the other.  
"It is Thorin Oakenshield." Glorfindel mentioned after a moment, his expression suddenly sullen and his voice quieter.

"Why would Thorin Oakenshield come to Rivendell?" Erestor asked. "He hates the elves, especially since no help came from our brethren in Mirkwood after Smaug attacked."

Glorfindel made a noise similar to 'hmmf' and crossed his arms. "What Thranduil did was perfectly acceptable Erestor. He would not risk the lives of the elves of Mirkwood fighting a dragon that he knew they could not slay, especially within the halls of Erebor. He offered them help when they were wandering in the wilds and they were too proud to accept it." Glorfindel had the grace to look rather sheepish when Erestor fixed him with a piercing look and a raised eyebrow and held his hands out in a sign of submission. The two elves had discussed many of Thranduil's actions while he had reigned over the woods once known as Greenwood and always came to a different conclusion. Glorfindel had learnt from experience not to push the topic or he would be drawn into a lengthy debate.  
"I have no grievances with the dwarves." He said instead, steering the conversation back to the present, "I welcome them here; it'll be a nice change."

"How could it possibly be a nice change?" Erestor exclaimed, once again putting the books aside and facing the Balrog slayer.

Glorfindel met his question with an easy smile and shrugged, managing to make that one small act graceful.

"It is unlikely they will even meet you Glorfindel, or that they desire to. If Mithrandir is with them then they are here because he probably gave them no choice." Erestor continued.

"They were attacked by orcs on our borders," Glorfindel corrected, "Mithrandir led them down the secret entrance to save them. If he was indeed meaning to bring them to Rivendell then the orc attack would have definitely helped his cause. You are coming to the midnight dance tonight aren't you?" He asked suddenly and Erestor coughed in surprise.

"What does that have to do with the dwarves?"

"Absolutely nothing," Glorfindel admitted, "I just want to dance with you."

Erestor turned his face away to hide the blush that crept into his cheeks and shook his head in disbelief. How he hated the Balrog slayer for having the ability to annoy him and yet make him feel warm and happy inside at the same time.

"Why is there a midnight dance even going on?" He asked, refusing to give the answer he knew Glorfindel wanted to hear.

"I organised it. Elladan and Elrohir just came back from a hunting trip and Arwen is visiting for a bit, so I thought it might be a nice time to get together. Other elves are coming as well, there will be music and food and drink as well. And dancing. Lord Elrond has said he is not coming, probably because of the dwarves. It's not actually at midnight, it's just late into the night." Glorfindel explained.

"You are unbelievable," Erestor scoffed, "Did you do this often in Gondolin as well? I'm surprised they could deal with you."

As soon as he had spoken he regretted his words, knowing that the subject of Gondolin was a sensitive one for Glorfindel but the blonde shrugged and laughed.

"So, you are coming right?"

"I have a feeling even if I said no you would not give me a choice." Erestor sighed, frowning as the sigh came out more as a sigh of longing that a sigh of annoyance.

Glorfindel grinned and turned to exit the library, "Excellent, I'll see you there, _meleth_."

/

Fili glanced at his brother again and held back a sigh. It was late into the night now and yet none of the company wished to go to sleep just yet. Fili could see from the slight pout on Kili's lips that his younger brother was bored and yet was trying to hold back any 'childish' impulses he was having so he could enjoy himself. Thorin had departed to speak to Elrond and left most of the company behind, and most of the company were laughing and joking with each other as they roasted sausages and other meats over a fire they had made on a balcony. If it had been any other place Kili would have joined them, but Fili could see that his brother was itching to explore this new world. They had heard tales of the elves from Thorin and had grown to hate them, despite the fact that they had never met one, but Fili knew that now Kili was among elves he was willing to get to know what they were like on a first-hand experience rather than keep on believing old tales Thorin had told them when they were younger.

"We can go if you want Kili," He whispered to his brother as he shifted for the fourth time in twenty minutes, a clear sign he was bored.

"Like hell we can." Kili replied somewhat angrily, "They'll just tell Thorin when he comes back we went to mingle with the elves."

"Well," Fili said, thinking for a moment, "I did see an archery range; you could use that as a excuse. I doubt that anyone will question why you would want to be able to shoot in the dark, orc raids do come at night and you used to practise at night back home." He finally said.

Kili's eyes lit up immediately and he grinned. Standing up he reached for his bow and quiver and hurried off quickly. Dwalin watched him go, suspicion in his eyes. Fili stood up to follow Kili and offered the older dwarf a small smile.

"He remembered there was an archery range a short distance away and he's decided to go and train." He explained. Dwalin did not say anything but Fili was sure that he knew exactly why the two brothers were sneaking away, his expression gave him away. Giving no thought to it Fili left the dwarven company behind and followed Kili, who had no idea where he was going but was walking some way ahead of him with purpose. He stopped suddenly just as Fili reached him and held up a hand.

"Do you hear that Fili?" Kili asked, his head cocked slightly to the side, something he did when he was listening intently. Fili paused, refraining from just asking Kili what he could hear and listened. He did hear something, it sounded like flute music, coming from a little way off in a garden that he could just make out, illuminated with the lights from the buildings ahead of the brothers.

"I hear music." Fili admitted. Kili nodded his head vigorously and before Fili could stop him the youngest heir of Durin was running ahead, somehow not making much noise as he did so and had located a way out into the garden. Fili rushed after him, he didn't want Kili to get into trouble in a place such as Rivendell, unsure how the elves would react.  
"Kili what are you doing?" He asked as they drew nearer to the music and Kili began examining the trees.

"Well I don't just want to burst in and find myself in the presence of angry elves." Kili replied as if it were obvious what he was doing. Fili shook his head as it hit him what his brother was doing.

"You can't spy on them from the trees Kili," He told his younger brother. Kili paid him no heed and ran at the tree in front of them, leaping into the air with the grace of a predator hunting prey and swung himself easily up into the branches. Fili sighed and moved to the trunk of the tree, watching as Kili moved higher and higher among the branches effortlessly. _If any elf were to spot him they'd take him for an elf the way he is climbing, _he thought as Kili finally came to a halt. Wherever the music was coming from Kili could obviously now see for a smile split his face and Fili was tempted to climb into the tree to see what his brother could. It turned out he did not need to for suddenly voices reached his eyes and it was only ducking behind the large trunk of the tree that Kili was in that saved him from being spotted as several elves danced past him. The music accompanied them and when Fili felt save enough to peer around the edge of the tree he saw that there were at least a dozen elves dancing in a clearing, while three or four elves sat to the side playing music for them. Fili recognised one of the brown haired elves as Lindir, the elf that had greeted them when they had first arrived at Rivendell. Glancing up at Kili, Fili was surprised to see his brother laughing silently and watching the dancers with excitement in his eyes.

Had Fili been up in the tree with his brother he would have seen exactly who his eyes were fixed on. Kili was keenly watching the only blonde elf there as he danced and weaved amidst the other dark haired elves. Unconsciously he was probably watching this particular elf because he had grown an attachment to blonde hair after living with his brother for so long, one of the only fair haired dwarves in existence, but Kili had decided that he was watching this particular elf because of his smile. It was mischievous, cheeky even, despite the fact he was evidently a fully grown elf. Kili had no way of telling exactly how old the elf was, had he been a dwarf he would have figured it out from his beard, but something told him this elf was old, but the twinkle in his eye made him seem young and energetic. He was currently dancing with a dark haired elf who seemed torn between being happy at the close proximity of their bodies and annoyed at the blonde elf himself. Kili leant forward in the branch to watch them as they came closer to the trunk and Fili, who was watching Kili from the ground, realised what was going to happen before it did. He darted forward as Kili fell from his branch and collided with Fili before he hit the ground.

The music stopped and silence fell around them. Fili felt very nervous, trapped beneath his brother and surrounded by elves. Kili pushed himself off of his brother and stood, grasping Fili's hand to pull him up as well and together they watched the elves to try and guess what they're reactions to the two dwarves suddenly appearing would be. Suddenly two dark haired males, so alike in face that both Fili and Kili automatically knew they were twins, though this was rare among dwarves and they had never seen twins before, laughed loudly and clutched each other's shoulders for support. Some of the other elves joined in, causing Fili and Kili to glance at each other, wondering if they should be embarrassed or relieved.

"Quite an entrance master dwarf." A voice called and Glorfindel, who was just a blonde elf to the two brothers, approached them, a smile on his face.  
"Though I must say it is amusing to have a dwarf spying on us from the trees."

"We weren't spying we were observing." Fili replied rather harshly, trying to draw Kili behind him as the elf knelt before them.

Glorfindel looked taken aback for a moment before he held his hands up as a gesture of defeat and laughed. "Well whatever it is you were doing why do you not come and join our festivities? We have much cause for joy tonight. But first, introductions. My name is Glorfindel, though there are many epithets you can add to it." At this the elf bowed as well as he could from a kneeling position.

"Kili, at your service." Kili replied almost immediately, bowing in return and Fili followed slowly, never taking his eyes off Glorfindel.

"This is Erestor," Glorfindel said, gesturing to the dark haired elf Kili had seen him dancing with. The elf nodded his head to the dwarves, arms crossed and Kili swore he heard the elf mutter something about being perfectly able to introduce himself.

"We are Elladan and Elrohir." The two elves that were so similar said together. Fili thought he saw something of Elrond in the way they smiled.

"Now now boys," Glorfindel laughed. "Do not be cruel, let them know which one is which."

"It's not like they will actually be able to tell even when we've told them," One of the elves, Elrohir to those that could tell, giggled. Elladan nudged him in the ribs even as he smothered his giggles.  
"I am Elrohir, this is Elladan." Elrohir added.

Fili and Kili nodded. The other elves introduced themselves in the same fashion, with an odd joke or two from Glorfindel about certain elves. The last elf to be introduced to the boys was a female elf with long flowing hair and a beautiful smile. Fili and Kili couldn't help but stare. They did not find elves particularly beautiful but there was something about this elven lady that was different from the rest of them. She resembled Elladan and Elrohir.

"I am Arwen Undomiel," She said softly. Fili and Kili bowed to her.

"Aww sister you have gone and made them dumbstruck." Elladan laughed.

"She has not!" Kili replied indignantly and Fili held back a laugh at how easily his brother was offended.

"Come, let us continue dancing." Glorfindel exclaimed, "It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful night. Will you join us?" He inquired, directing the question at Fili and Kili.

Fili knew that Kili desperately wanted to, he wanted to take this chance to have fun without Thorin yelling at them for being childish, but Fili knew Kili was also worried about the repercussions if Thorin did in fact find out what they were doing. It was his duty as big brother to make sure that Kili was happy, and if that meant feeling safe to dance with elves then so be it.

"Maybe we can show you the dances we do in Ered Luin, and some of the dances that used to be performed in Erebor." He suggested to Glorfindel. The other elves had gone back to dancing in their own way, but the tune of the song was something Kili and Fili could easily work to for their own dances.

"I would be delighted," Glorfindel laughed and took up Kili's left hand when the archer offered it to him. Pausing Fili removed the quiver from Kili's back and laid it with his bow where it had landed when Kili had fallen. He moved to Glorfindel's other side and took his hand.

The dwarf brothers were patient with the elf and after a few tries Glorfindel had the steps perfected and Elladan, Elrohir and the other elves had been copying them as well. With a knowing look from Glorfindel, Lindir and the other musicians struck up a more dwarven style of music to go with the dance that Kili and Fili had shown Glorfindel. It was fast paced and the dance involved much twirling and was usually done with a partner. There was an odd number though with Fili and Kili added them so Fili excused himself and allowed Kili to dance with Glorfindel.

Watching from the sidelines Fili couldn't help but smile at the look of pure happiness on Kili's features as he danced around Glorfindel, laughing when the elf accidently stepped the wrong way and ended up bumping into Kili instead of stepping around him. The elves had definitely picked up the dance well enough, but Kili was by far the best at it amongst them and eventually the elves stopped dancing to just watch Kili. Fili found this amusing. His brother liked to be the centre of attention and yet now that his audience were elves he was slightly more nervous. Glorfindel whistled at him from the edge and Kili laughed. His eyes searched for Fili's and Fili saw within them that Kili felt he needed Fili's permission to really let go and just dance the night away. Fili nodded. Kili beamed at him and turned away as he danced.

"It's an amazing thing you and your brother have Fili." Glorfindel commented and Fili jumped, he hadn't heard the elf approach him.

"What is?"

"The bond you have. Kili only really let go when you said he could. You're the older brother right?" Glorfindel asked.

Fili nodded, "It's not so much based on the bond we have, Kili's just worried about what Thorin would say if he could see him dancing with elves."

Glorfindel laughed, "Well let's hope he never finds out. This music was played once in Erebor's halls, I hope your brother will once again be dancing to it within those halls."

"What do you know of Erebor?" Fili asked, the question coming out harsher than he wanted it to but Glorfindel did not seem to take offence.

"I know that Thorin Oakenshield and twelve other dwarves would not be travelling through this part of the land, especially with a Hobbit and Mithrandir as a companion, if he did not think he could reclaim Erebor after so long." The elf replied, smiling as his eyes tracked Kili's movements. "Your brother is very graceful."

Fili looked over at Kili and smiled. Glorfindel was right, Kili was graceful in his movements, he always had been. No, not graceful, but careful. Each movement Kili made was done with precision and thought behind it, even in the moments when Kili was not thinking about the consequences of his actions. He moved purposefully. Grace was for the elves.

A comfortable silence, or a lack of words considering the music was still playing, descended between Glorfindel and Fili and the young dwarf was surprised to find that he did not mind sitting in the company of an elf, despite what he had been told about them. Glorfindel had a smile that reminded him of Kili, mischievous and a wild twinkle in his eyes. Shaking his head at the thought Fili was glad that Kili wasn't looking at him or he feared his brother might have known he was comparing him to an elf.

"It's strange that Thorin let a dwarf so young come on a quest." Glorfindel mused after a moment.

"What?" Fili asked distracted by the twins joining Kili in the dance, confusing his brother for a moment as he had to incorporate two partners into his movements.

"Your brother barely has a beard," Glorfindel said, "Is that not a sign of youth in dwarves?"

Fili turned his eyes to Glorfindel, a dark look in them to rival Thorin's and Glorfindel laughed nervously.

"Kili is not young. He keeps his beard short because otherwise it would get caught in his bow when he…kisses the arrow." Fili snapped, annoyed that he had had to falter in his defence of Kili because he had forgotten the term Kili used to explain why he didn't have a beard. The issue was a sensitive one for Kili and he didn't want to upset his brother.

"Ah. I meant no offence to your brother Fili, I was just wondering is all. It'll be a dangerous road to Erebor nowadays." Glorfindel murmured.

Fili said nothing, but stood abruptly. Glorfindel watched, his eyes shining in amusement.

"Excuse me." Fili said and moved over to where Kili was dancing, sliding between Elladan and Elrohir and drawing his brother away from them so the two of them could dance together. Kili's laugh was louder than before and his smile was wider, it was evident he had been waiting to dance with Fili.

Erestor came and took the spot Fili had just vacated by Glorfindel's side.

"Did you plan this?" He asked shortly.

Glorfindel laughed. "No. I wanted to have a get together with friends, I had no idea some of the dwarves would come." He replied truthfully.

Erestor smiled. "Well it's nice to see this right? Elves and dwarves getting along as if nothing is wrong between our two races?"

"Yes." Glorfindel said simply, knowing that any other answer he gave would draw him into a long debate with Erestor that he would rather avoid.

/

"Where are Fili and Kili?" Thorin asked rather roughly as the company made ready to get into their bedrolls for the night. He immediately knew that they were gone when he did not see Fili's golden hair amongst the dwarves.

"They must have slipped off before when we weren't looking." Ori noted with a soft voice.

"I saw where they went." Dwalin said. "Fili said something about Kili going to practise archery."

Thorin rolled his eyes, he knew that Dwalin did not believe what Fili had said for a moment but he would repeat it all the same to try and avoid trouble when the boys came back. He was about to say something else when the sound of music caught his ears and he froze in shock. That music, he knew it, it had played in Erebor before Smaug had come. He had played much of it for Fili and Kili when they had been young, although it brought tears to his eyes.

"Do you hear that too?" Balin inquired, "Dwalin mentioned he thought he heard Kili laughing before."

"Perhaps the boys are teaching the elves what proper music sounds like," Oin commented, drawing laughs from many of the company. The old dwarf could not hear the music but Gloin had told him it was there and he remembered too well the music of the elves from earlier.

Every member of the company watched Thorin, wondering what his reaction would be to Kili and Fili being with the elves and playing the music of Erebor.

"As long as they are not too tired to continue tomorrow, let them teach the elves what they can about the dwarves." Thorin said gruffly, turning from the company's eyes to smile. His hatred for the elves ran deep but Fili and Kili had no reason to hate them, for the elves had never done them a personal wrong. Though the lack of help when they had lost their homeland would have struck hate deep into Thorin even if he hadn't been there on that terrible day his nephews were different. As long as they were having fun and they were safe, that was all that mattered.

/

The next morning Kili and Fili could barely keep their eyes open and their limbs were aching as they followed Thorin out of Rivendell and into the wild. They were not quite sure why they looked back but they both did, at the same time and saw Glorfindel stood at the edge of Rivendell watching them with a smile on his face. As Fili and Kili looked right at him he bowed to them deeply, his blonde hair forming a curtain around his face to hide his expression. Fili and Kili bowed back to him when he straightened up. With a laugh that they could just hear Glorfindel twirled around and went through a few steps of the dance that the two brothers had taught him last night. Kili and Fili looked at each and laughed before turning their attention forward and following the rest of the company forward, onto Erebor.


End file.
